The Lansing JazzFest is a free
music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
that takes place each year in the summer in
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...
. It showcases nationally, regionally, and locally known
jazz artists such as
Marcus Belgrave
Marcus Batista Belgrave (June 12, 1936 – May 24, 2015) was an American jazz trumpet player from Detroit, born in Chester, Pennsylvania. He recorded with numerous musicians from the 1950s onwards. Belgrave was inducted into the class of 2017 ...
, the Professors of Jazz at
MSU (
Rodney Whitaker
Rodney Whitaker (born February 22, 1968) is an American jazz double bass player and educator.
Biography
Born in Detroit, Whitaker attended Wayne State University, and studied with Robert Gladstone, principal bass with the Detroit Symphony Orc ...
,
Randy Gelispie,
Diego Rivera,
Derrick Gardner
Derrick Gardner (born June 3, 1965) is an American jazz trumpeter from Chicago, Illinois.
Gardner began playing trumpet at the age of 9 in his hometown of Chicago. In 1991, he moved to New York City and played with groups such as the Count Ba ...
,
Sunny Wilkinson, and
Rick Roe
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
),
Eric Reed Eric Reed may refer to:
*Eric Reed (musician) (born 1970), American jazz pianist and composer
*Eric Reed (baseball) (born 1980), American outfielder
*Eric Reed (soccer) (born 1983), American goalkeeper
*Eric Reed (horse trainer), American horse tra ...
,
Michael Kaeshammer,
Straight Ahead,
Don Phillips,
Lisa Smith and Mike Skory Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...
,
Sunrise II,
Jazz Doggs
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...
,
Tyrone Johnson, the
Claudia Schmidt Quartet Claudia may refer to:
People Ancient Romans
*Any woman from the Roman Claudia gens
* Claudia (vestal), a Vestal Virgin who protected her father Appius Claudius Pulcher in 143 BC
* Claudia Augusta (63–63 AD), infant daughter of Nero by his secon ...
,
Dick Fizzell & the Dixieland Express,
Tim Cunningham,
Francis Kofi
Francis may refer to:
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*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
*Rural Mu ...
,
Betty Joplin
Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beatric ...
,
Sheila Landis
Sheila Catherine Landis (born September 10, 1953, Detroit, Michigan, United States) is an American jazz, R&B vocalist and songwriter.
In 1981, Landis formed her own label, SheLan Records, initially releasing five albums of self-penned material. ...
,
Ritmo,
Patti Richards
Patti may refer to:
People
* Patti (name)
* Patti caste, a group of people
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* Patti, Iran (disambiguation)
* Patti, Punjab, India
* Patti, Punjab Assembly constituency, India
* Patti, Sicily
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* Patti, Uttar Prad ...
,
Los Gatos, and more.
The festival welcomes nearly 15,000 attendees over the weekend.
History
The Lansing JazzFest began in 1995 when the Old Town Business and Art Development Association, having successfully produced OctoberFest (now the
Old Town BluesFest
The Old Town BluesFest is a free music festival that takes place each year in the early autumn in Lansing, Michigan. It showcases nationally, regionally, and locally known blues artists such as W. C. Clark, Grana' Louise, Byther Smith, Edd ...
), discovered that
music festivals are an excellent way to encourage people to visit and enjoy Old Town
Lansing. The local jazz radio station,
89.7 WLNZ, signed on as a founding media sponsor, and Message Makers, a local media company, became its founding business sponsor. In the festival's early days, local musicians donated their time to play at JazzFest, and volunteers from the local community pitched in to see that the 4,000-5,000 people in attendance had a good time. The Lansing JazzFest is the only mid-Michigan festival to increase consistently in attendance every year since its beginning.
A virtual show is planned in September 2020 as live shows were cancelled caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
See also
*
Detroit International Jazz Festival
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.jazzlansing.com/
Jazz festivals in the United States
Music festivals in Michigan
Tourist attractions in Lansing, Michigan
Economy of Lansing, Michigan